Sebelius on abortion, church and state

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was asked by the Washington Post whether there should be some federal funding of abortions. "The president has made it pretty clear that Congress and the new health insurance plan will not provide federal funds for abortions," Sebelius said. She also was asked what she thought about the archbishop of Kansas City, Kan., having told her when she was Kansas governor that she shouldn't take communion because she was a pro-choice politician. "Well, it was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced in my life," Sebelius said. "I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state, and I feel that my actions as a parishioner are different than my actions as a public official and that the people who elected me in Kansas had a right to expect me to uphold their rights and their beliefs even if they did not have the same religious beliefs that I had. And that's what I did: I took an oath of office and I have taken an oath of office in this job and will uphold the law."